Bensham Manor School
Ecclesbourne Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 7BN
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Fiona Robinson
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Croydon West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 244
- Pupils on roll
- 246
- URN
- 101851
- Local authority
- Croydon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 02086840116
About this school
Bensham Manor School is a community special school in Thornton Heath. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 246 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bensham Manor School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 55 | 45 | 42 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.37 -1.76 to -0.99 | -1.54 -1.98 to -1.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 2% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 4% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Bensham Manor School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Croydon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.9 | 37.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 2.9 | 37 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 3.5 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 244 |
| 2023/24 | 241 |
| 2024/25 | 242 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
- 5 June 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report23 March 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 59.83%
- English as an additional language
- 23.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.63%
- Persistent absence
- 25.75%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Aya College (Educational Provision)0.5 miles
Independent schools · London
-
BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology0.5 miles
Independent schools · Croydon
-
Arise Academy0.7 miles
Special schools · Croydon
-
Beckmead College0.9 miles
Academies · London
-
Harris Aspire Academy1.1 miles
Free Schools · London
Other schools in Thornton Heath
- THE BRIDGE SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS SCHOOL Special schools
- Thornton Heath Nursery School Nursery
- Beulah Junior School Primary
- David Livingstone Academy Primary
- Ecclesbourne Primary School Primary
- Gonville Academy Primary
- Kensington Avenue Primary School Primary
- Paxton Academy Sports And Science Primary
- St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy Primary
- St James the Great RC Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Infant School Primary
- Whitehorse Manor Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Bensham Manor School teach?
- Bensham Manor School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a special school in Thornton Heath.
- Who is the headteacher of Bensham Manor School?
- The headteacher of Bensham Manor School is Mrs Fiona Robinson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bensham Manor School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bensham Manor School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Bensham Manor School?
- Bensham Manor School has 246 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Bensham Manor School full?
- Bensham Manor School has capacity for 244 pupils and 246 on roll (101%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Bensham Manor School a faith school?
- No. Bensham Manor School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Bensham Manor School have?
- The schools register lists Bensham Manor School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bensham Manor School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 3.9 in 2022/23 and 3.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bensham Manor School's absence rate?
- Bensham Manor School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bensham Manor School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bensham Manor School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.